Bitcoin’s supply on exchanges has dropped enough to raise the prospect of a price move higher, according to a Monday report from CryptoQuant cited by Bitcoin Magazine.
The report said the amount of bitcoin held on exchanges fell to 2.67 million BTC from 2.8 million since February.
Lower exchange balances tighten readily tradable supply
Bitcoin was recently at $83,485, unchanged over the past 24 hours but up 8% over the last 30 days, the article said. After what it described as Bitcoin’s best quarter in years, the rally in August and September led a number of analysts to say the bear market was over.
In the report, on-chain researcher Rei Researcher wrote: “If buying demand continues to improve while exchange supply remains low, BTC could benefit from a supply-demand imbalance, creating favorable conditions for a longer-term upward trend.”
The report added: “More importantly, in recent weeks, bitcoin has recovered from its lows while exchange reserves have continued to decline. This is a notable development, suggesting that the supply readily available for trading is decreasing even as the market recovers.”
Report points to possible cold storage transfers
The analysis also said investors may be moving bitcoin off exchanges and into cold storage solutions.
Price path in 2026 and the macro backdrop
Bitcoin traded mostly below $65,000 during the first half of 2026, according to the article. It spent most of this year in a bear market after hitting an all-time high of $126,080 in October 2025.
Bitcoin Magazine said that changed in August, when news that the U.S. Treasury would double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations weakened the dollar and strengthened bitcoin and other non-yield-bearing assets.
The article said the so-called debasement trade is now back in focus, describing it as investors putting money into an asset to hedge against a currency losing value. Analysts cited in the piece said Bitcoin is benefiting from that trade, as it did in 2024 and 2025.
Even after the rebound, Bitcoin remains more than 30% below its record high. The article first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Mathew Di Salvo.